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Brandon Summers
Brandon Christopher Summers (born September 29, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter active since 2003, from Orlando, Florida. He is best known for his solo work, and broke into the mainstream with his 2005 debut single, "That's Right", which peaked in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album, Debut, debuted on the Billboard 200 at #4 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. His sophomore album, Sophomore Release, also performed well, debuting at #3 in the US and also being certified Platinum. His third album, Follow Up, is expected to be released May 30, 2011. Early life Brandon Christopher Summers was born September 29, 1989 to David Summers and Amber Smith in Orlando, Florida. The family moved a lot during the first ten years of his life, to California, Illinois, and Virginia, before moving back to Orlando when he was ten. He had a dog, named Heroin, for his entire childhood, until it died when he was twelve. Many considered him a very gifted student through elementary school, skipping two grades (second and fourth). However, in middle school, due to his lack of interest in schoolwork and taking up playing the guitar, his grades slipped and he was held back twice. With his parents' permission, he dropped out of high school in his sophomore year in order to pursue his music career. Career 2003-2004: Beginnings Summers developed an interest in playing the electric guitar at the age of 13, and claimed that, by his first official performance in the summer of 2003, he considered himself very skilled. Though he originally only wanted to play guitar, he eventually took up singing, but refused a voice coach. In November 2003, he created a MySpace Music account and released his first song, an early version of his own song he'd written/recorded, "That's Right". Through the first half of 2004 he periodically released five more songs, and by summer of 2004 he was averaging about 300 plays a day, and began performing at his own shows in the local area, his main genre (then) being rock music. 2004-2006: Signing with Wreckway Records & major-label debut As Summers' popularity increased and he began playing lots of his own shows out of Orlando, many labels were noticing him. After being dissatisfied with every option he was offered, in late 2004 Summers finally signed with Wreckway Records, and they began producing his major label debut in the spring of 2005, the label aiming for "rock-esque pop/R&B" album, which Summers originally disagreed with but eventually liked. The first single from the album was released on May 22, 2005, and was a refined, modified version of his 2003 song "That's Right", holding the same title, chord progression, vocals, and lyrics, but adding more of an R&B flavor in, with hip hop beats replacing the original snare drum beat, a big deal to his previous fans, who felt he had "officially sold out" by that point. However, despite the initial dislike of the song by strong-willed fans, many grew to like this new version and the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #99 in July 2005 and, after a slow climb, unexpectedly peaked within the Top 15 of the Hot 100, at #14. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album, titled Debut, was released June 29, 2005, around the peak success of "That's Right", which helped the album sell over 150,000 copies in its first week for a #4 debut/peak, quickly falling off the Billboard 200. The album was eventually certified Platinum for sales of over 1,000,000. The second single, "Till Tomorrow", was released August 12, 2005, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at #30, considered a success, being certified Gold for shipments of over 500,000 units in the US alone. The third single, "Some B.S.", was released December 5, 2005, and was his most successful song at the time, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA within two months of release. The final single, "Pointless", was released March 19, 2006, and peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his third Top 20 hit and his fourth consecutive Top 40 hit, on that specific chart. A world tour followed, beginning in North America and going through South America, Europe, and Australia, as well, over the course of ten months (October 2005-August 2006). 2006-2008: Movies, hiatus with music After touring, Summers decided to take a one month break, to spend some time with his friends and family. In November 2006, Summers contributed with an original song for the soundtrack of the 2006 romantic comedy film, However Long It Takes; the song, also titled "However Long It Takes", was released as a single December 10, 2006, and debuted/peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #25 with the release of the movie being in late December. After being unable to find enough inspiration to create a whole new album, Summers decided to take a little break from music, and auditioned for a minor role in the 2007 comedy film, Way Too Long, and, though the film was ultimately unsuccessful at the box office, this got him interested in acting and he was cast into a supporting role for another comedy film, What Could Go Wrong?, released in July 2007, which was more successful than Way Too Long, managing $39,000,000 at the box office, compared to a $12 million budget. His first starring role was in the 2008 comedy, Not Feeling It, which was immensely successful, making over $125 million at the box office through spring 2008. 2008-2010: Sophomore Release In September 2008, Summers decided to follow up his debut album, Debut, and wrote/recorded it throughout the rest of 2008; the first single was released December 5, 2008, titled "Don't Care", and performed under expectations, debuting/peaking at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single was released February 2, 2009, titled "Call Me Shallow", and was more successful, peaking at #19 on the Hot 100, being certified Gold by the RIAA. The album, titled Sophomore Release, was released April 15, 2009, and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, eventually selling over 1,000,000 copies for a Platinum certification. The third and final single from the album, "Hilarious" was released May 18, 2009, and was the most successful song from the album, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming his fourth Top 10 single. A world tour followed, from July 2009-August 2010, covering mostly the same countries as his last world tour, and a final leg of the tour from September-November 2010. 2010-present: Follow Up Summers had announced after his previous tour ended that he would be taking a typical three month break off from music, before working on any new material. Summers began work on his third studio album in early 2011, and as of April 2011, the album is completed and is to be titled, Follow Up, scheduled to be released May 30, 2011. The lead single from the album was released March 31, 2011, titled "Shades". The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #14, and moved up to #12 the next week. It has peaked at #9 so far. Controversies Relationship with Ashley Winters On May 2, 2008, while at a diner, after an interview, in Los Angeles, CA, Summers was confronted by singer Ashley Winters, who, known for her feminist lyrics and assertive/aggressive actions that has made her such a female figure, was offended by Summers' "girl-bashing" music. Reportedly, knowing she was a feminist, he remarked that she would "definitely be" an inspiration for music on his next album. According to her, he called her "an annoying ass bitch", and so that is why she slapped him in the face and walked away. In a June 2008 interview, when asked what happened, Summers responded, "I didn't say shit to her; she's a lying bitch." This incident almost instantly received massive media coverage, which ultimately resulted in the two being considered, oppositely, stereotypical icons for aggressive/assertive men and women. Songs off of 2009 Summers' album Sophomore Release show obvious, negative references to Winters, such as "Call Me Shallow" and "Hilarious", both hit songs. Ironically, in June 2009, a year after the event, Winters and Summers announced that they had become romantically involved after getting to know each other better, sparking more media coverage about the two. However, in February 2010 they ended the relationship, but began dating again a month later, before saying it was "definitely over" in September 2010. This was also a very popular topic in the news at the time. Discography Albums *''Debut'' (2005) *''Sophomore Release'' (2009) *''Follow Up'' (2011)